It's the 20th book in Lee Child's Jack Reacher series. Harry Guerin thinks there could be some changes ahead for this hero of our time.
It's the 20th book in Lee Child's Jack Reacher series. Harry Guerin thinks there could be some changes ahead for this hero of our time.
Lee Child tells a great story about summer holidays when he was a kid. When selecting reading material for the trip, Child would ask his father which book he intended to bring and would receive a reply along the lines of, 'I want the same as the last time, but different'. It's parental wisdom that has stood Child to good stead over his Jack Reacher adventures, and has made the author a very wealthy man.
Make Me sticks to the man-goes-on-a-journey/stranger-comes-to-town formula of all the other books, but there are a couple of surprises. And while the end result is not as satisfying as last year's Personal, it's still a real page-turner.
Here, ex-army man Reacher's criss-crossing of the US brings him to Mother's Rest, Oklahoma, where curiosity about the origin of the town's name prompts him to jump off the train - and into a brand new mystery.
Reacher meets Michelle Chang, a former FBI agent-turned-private investigator who's looking for a missing colleague, and discovers that the townsfolk don't take too kindly to strangers. As Reacher and Chang try to ascertain why, the trail takes them to Oklahoma City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix, San Francisco and back again to Mother's Rest for the inevitable showdown.
Yes, it's another 'western with air miles', but what's altogether unexpected is that Reacher - the Zen master of love-'em-and-leave-'em - develops some serious attachment issues after spending time with Chang. That's not the only chink in the armour. He's also learning - very painfully - that he's not as fast as he used to be, and that full-time ass-kicking is the province of younger men. It'll be interesting to see how these developments affect the next book.
What this one needed, above all, was better opposition, because the bad guys here are as dull as those in, say, 2008's Nothing to Lose. As a result, the chapters in Mother's Rest aren't as interesting as the ones where Reacher and Chang are on the road, and a hitman with great potential they meet along the way is dispatched far too early.
Here's hoping that's rectified by the time Reacher turns 21.
3.5/5
